Day 1
Had some fun with Amy & Carl at Roots Wine & Cellar. This space is amazing and if it had a larger capacity downstairs, we would've totally loved to have the wedding & reception here! If you're looking for a unique reception venue, check it out.
Instead we settled for good company, drinks, appetizers and an engagement photo warm-up session.
Day 2
Sunday morning we got up early to begin our engagement photo shoot. Amy volunteered her expertise and creative eye! We started down by the lakefront to catch the sunrise. Then, for about 2.5 hours, we strolled around Milwaukee's Third Ward grabbing photos whenever the moment struck.
Since Amy didn't give us fancy robes --tsk, tsk Amy-- to wear between shots, Carl & I had to brave the frosty air - eventually getting to the point of numb toes & ears. It was a ton of fun and worth the icy temps! I have no doubt the photos will be great.
Day 3
Brewfest at the Milwaukee Ale House!
Day 4
NOTE: I'd offer up more detail here, however Carl will likely be reading this :)
Monday we hit the bridal boutiques. We started at the Bridal Event in Appleton. Not the best web site, but definitely a great selection and experience - Beth was amazing and made us feel incredibly comfortable. I'm guessing I tried on 15-20 dresses here; some were outrageously hideous and others were simply beautiful. We spent about 2 hours there.
After that we visited Gigi's in Mequon. Upon arrival, they asked me to fill out an information card. As I was filling in my name and e-mail, I noticed the last question on the card:
"Your dress budget is: $10,000+, $5,000-$10,000 or $2,000-$5,000."
I almost fell off my chair before I circled $2,000 - $5,000. When I went back to the waiting area, the first thing I said to Amy was, "We'll be playing dress up here...just go with it."
Needless to say, I felt like Barbie and the woman helping us was wonderful. Wouldn't you figure, I fell in LOVE with one of the dresses...even tried it on 3 times while we were there. At one point I looked at Amy and said, "What am I gonna do?" Being my level-headed partner of the day, she responded, "You're not going to get it. Let's go."
Ahh, she was right.
Next we did a quick Bing search for Milwaukee bridal salons and found a small one in West Allis. We walked in and it was incredibly small - great! More personalized attention. Nope.
Amy ended up helping me get into each dress. Once I was in the dress, she had to figure out how to clip them to be my size. You know what the store supplied us with? Chip clips. Yep, you heard me.
I wonder what the saleswoman was thinking when she heard Amy and I giggling incessantly in our dressing room :)
We ended the day with a visit to David's Bridal. Wow - I am so glad I visited the nicer boutiques earlier in the day. If I would have started with David's Bridal, I would have been so annoyed by everything. Our David's Bridal "consultant" was more like a used car salesman. She was awful! She kept saying, "I know what you want." I had to literally force her to let me try on the dresses I picked out. It was ridiculous. It irritates me now just thinking about it.
Looking at all four places we visited, we really did have tons of fun. I wouldn't mind wedding dress shopping with my sister once every year!
In the end, we narrowed it down to two dresses. Both were gorgeous yet completely different from one another - almost opposites. I was trying to decide which one made me feel the best but also would please Carl. My future mother-in-law gave me some wise words of advice: "Pick which one makes YOU feel special. If you love it, Carl will love it!"
So, yesterday I bought the dress that I loved.
